Blinken In Middle East For Fifth Trip To Region Since Outbreak Of War

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for his fifth trip to the Middle East since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. Blinken's trip is expected to engage in another round of shuttle diplomacy to push for the ratification of a ceasefire agreement negotiated in Paris last week, press for an independent Palestinian state, and a regionally integrated Israel - two key priorities for the White House which appear out of reach for now.

• Blinken's trip follows dozens of US strikes of targets in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, determined as substantive to the constellation of Iran-backed militia responsible for an attack which killed three US personnel.
• President Biden has not spoken publicly on the strikes but issued a statement that stressed the military action was directed at Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rather than Iran itself. Neither the US or Iran appear willing to engage directly but the risk of miscalculation remains high.
• Politico poses several questions on the US military actions: “Will it work? Did Biden wait too long? What will Trump say? How will this affect relations with Iraq? Will Iran escalate or de-escalate?”
• National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said: “The goal here is to get these attacks to stop. We are not looking for a war with Iran … The signal is: The attacks have to stop.”
• Note: Previous strikes on Houthi infrastructure in Yemen have failed to deter attacks in the Red Sea. If new strikes similarly fail to decrease attacks, the administration will receive significant criticism domestically - a concern for Biden in an election year.